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It’s what Bruins fans chant whenever the Maple Leafs go to Boston. They are thankful the ever-impatient Toronto organization traded two first-rounders and a second for Phil Kessel in 2009. Those first-rounders were turned into studly centre Tyler Seguin and Dougie Hamilton, a top blueline prospect.

When you go back over the Leafs’ recent history, had just a few moves been done differently — and more young players held onto — a radically different starting lineup could have emerged.

Bruins fans might also be thankful that the Leafs, having determined Ed Belfour was no longer welcome in blue and white in 2006, traded goalie prospect Tuukka Rask to Boston for Andrew Raycroft. The Leafs host Boston, with Rask the No. 1 man in net, on Saturday.

San Jose Sharks fans, too, can be grateful that the Leafs — having determined in 2007 that Raycroft wasn’t the answer, either — traded a first-round pick for Vesa Toskala. The Sharks ended up with Logan Couture and his back-to-back 30-goal seasons.

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“What would the Leafs look like with Tuukka Rask, Logan Couture, Tyler Seguin and Dougie Hamilton?” says Craig Button, a former NHL general manager and now analyst for TSN. “You’d have a No. 1 and No. 2 centre, a top-three defenceman and a No. 1 goalie.”

Imagine, everything the Leafs are looking for today, they could have had simply by being patient. Seguin at centre with Nazem Kadri and Joffrey Lupul on the wings, a blueline built around youngsters Jake Gardiner, Dougie Hamilton and Morgan Rielly, all protecting Rask.

“That’s assuming they did exactly those things,” says Button. “But however you want to look at it, the bottom line is the opportunity to inject really good young players was lost.”

And now that Kessel has gotten off to a slow start — the perennial 30-goal scorer has none in five games — the calls have come demanding he be traded.

“That’s nuts,” said Kadri, drafted seventh overall in 2009. “I don’t know how anyone can come to that conclusion. Phil is a natural goal-scorer. For him to have a slump like this — to most guys, five games isn’t a slump — he’s just got to keep shooting the puck.

“Once he gets one, he’ll probably get two, three and four in the same game.”

Kessel left practice on Monday without speaking to reporters regarding his slump.

Former GM Brian Burke did make some very good trades, adding Lupul, Gardiner and Dion Phaneuf at relatively little cost. John Ferguson Jr. made the deal for Raycroft, who is now out of the NHL.

If the Leafs could rewrite history and erase those trades with Boston, goaltending wouldn’t be an issue with Rask in net. And they’d be strong down the middle with Seguin, Mikhail Grabovski, Tyler Bozak and Kadri, who would probably be turned into a winger in that scenario.

“It is ironic,” said former NHLer Aaron Ward, now a TSN analyst and former teammate of both Kessel and Rask with the Bruins. “Tuukka is a guy who is a bona fide No. 1. He’s a mentally tough goalie and a big competitor. Dougie Hamilton is amazing to watch, the amount of trust that guy is getting from a team that usually doesn’t rely on youth.”

Pointing out that hindsight is 20/20, both Button and Ward said it is unfair to pin any blame on Kessel. He didn’t trade for himself, after all.

“The team didn’t become what Burke thought it would become with Phil Kessel,” said Button. “Phil Kessel has been a pretty good player for the Toronto Maple Leafs. The fact is the team’s performance has been underwhelming.”

Whether the Leafs should trade Kessel while his value remains high depends on which direction the team is going, said Button.

“A guy like Phil, the way he skates, there’s no reason to believe he can’t be productive for the next seven, eight years,” said Button.

With injuries to Lupul (broken forearm) and Clarke MacArthur (finger), James van Riemsdyk will take a turn on left wing on Kessel’s top line against Buffalo on Tuesday.

“For a goalscorer like him, it’s a matter of popping that first one in,” van Riemsdyk said of Kessel. “Then you get that confidence going and it’s like a soccer net out there.”

Ward is worried the team’s frantic fan base will be as hard on the 21-year-old van Riemsdyk as it is on the 25-year-old Kessel.

“Everyone wants him (van Riemsdyk) to make a massive impact,” said Ward. “You’ve got to remember, he’s a pretty young kid. You’re not picking up a power forward whose best years are behind him. This is a guy who is on the upswing.”

Ward says the franchise’s current situation weighs on the Leaf front office.

“I’ve played in other markets, but Toronto is such a unique place,” said Ward. “You have such unbridled loyalty. Leaf Nation is crazy how much they live and die by every minute detail that goes into the team. But it’s been so long since they’ve had success, they want immediate gratification.

“You’re almost pressured sometimes to do these things.”

Ward was a Bruin during the changing of the guard when Peter Chiarelli took over as GM and the team was 26th overall.

“The Bruins faithful (at the time) had been accustomed to being disappointed,” said Ward. “When I walked in there, it was a motley crew. What is amazing is how quickly they turned it around. Boston’s got a history of highway robbery.”

The Bruins did not build a Cup winner through the draft. Chiarelli got Zdeno Chara as a free agent, grabbed Rask from the Leafs, Tim Thomas from the scrap heap and got Dennis Wideman, Marc Savard and Marco Sturm in trades.

Button believes the Leafs’ new owners, Bell and Rogers, will be more patient than the previous regime. Ward also has faith in new Leafs GM Dave Nonis and his assistants.

“I think they’re doing it right,” said Ward. “One of the things working in their favour is they now have time. Brian Burke is no longer there. The new guys at the helm have an opportunity to put their imprint on an organization.”

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